Tinh Tam Lake

Originally, the lake was a part of the Kim Long River that was renovated, the original name was Ky Te Pond. In the third year of Minh Mang (1822), the Nguyen Dynasty mobilized up to 8000 soldiers to participate in the renovation of the lake, making it Ngu Uyen - a royal garden. Once completed, the lake took on the new name of Tinh Tam.

From the late nineteenth century, due to the lack of care conditions, the structures in the Tinh Tam Lake area were gradually damaged or destroyed. In 1946, the brick walls surrounding the lake were demolished to build lower walls. In 1960, in the old Dong Doanh palace, there was built a small octagonal communal house to commemorate. On this renovated floor, a concrete bridge has been built to connect Bong Lai Island with Kim Oanh Dike...

Tinh Tam Lake has a rectangular plane, with a circumference of nearly 1500m (354 feet). On the lake, there are three islands of Bong Lai, Phuong Tran and Doanh Chau, which are the focal points of the architecture in the lake. Bong Lai Island, in the south of the lake, in the middle there is Bong Doanh palace, 3 compartments 2 wings, match roof, Hong Luu Li roof tile. The palace is facing south, surrounded by a brick railing, in front of which there is Bong Doanh gate, then Bong Doanh bridge connecting the island with the southern lake shore. On the east side of Bong Doanh Palace, there is Thuy Ta Thanh Tam pavilion, facing east. On the west side of the palace, there is Trung Luyen pavilion, facing west. To the north is the Hong Cu gate and a bridge of the same name.

On Phuong Truong island, in the middle there is Nam Huan guard, facing south, 2 floors, Hoang Luu li roof tile. To the south is the Bich Tao Gate and Bich Tao Bridge. On the north side of the island, there is a Tinh Tam pavilion facing north. To the east is the Hao Nhien pavilion (changed from 1848 to Thien Nhien), facing east. On the west side, there is Duong Tinh terrace facing west. Between the two islands, there is Tu Dat communal house located between a system of roofing corridors with 44 pavilions, running into Bich Tao bridge in the south and Hong Cu bridge in the north.

In the middle of Tinh Tam Lake, Kim Oanh dyke connects from the east bank to the west bank. On the east side of the dike, there is Luc Lieu bridge, 3 compartments, tile roof. To the south, the dike is attached to a 56-compartments corridor, in the middle is the Bach Tan Bridge. On the south side of the bridge, there is Thanh Tuoc pavilion for the king's boat to stay. At the western end of the corridor, there is the Khuc Ta pavilion, connected with another pavilion, Khuc Ta Ha Phong through a small corridor built on the water. To the south of this barn is the island of Doanh Chau.

On the corners of Bong Lai Island, Phuong Truong has stacked stones to create penjings. Particularly, the island of Doanh Chau is shaped like a large island floating on the lake. Everywhere around the island, Bong Lai, Phuong Truong, Kim Oanh dyke and along the shore of the lake, there are all kinds of willows and strange flowers and grasses. In the lake, the only type of white lotus is grown.

The lake is separated from the outside by a round brick wall built quite high. On the four sides are four doors: Ha Huan in the south, Dong Hy in the north, Xuan Quang in the east and Thu Nguyet in the west...

With sophisticated architecture, fine but in harmony with nature, Tinh Tam Lake is considered a typical achievement of Vietnamese landscape architecture in the nineteenth century. The beautiful scenery of the lake has created a source of inspiration and become the subject of many famous poems and poems of the Nguyen kings such as Minh Mang, Thieu Tri, Tu Duc... Most prominent is still the poem Tinh Ho Ha Hung, located in the series of poems praising 20 beautiful landscapes of Hue Capital city of Thieu Tri emperor. At that time, this poem along with the scenery of Tinh Tam Lake were painted into mirror paintings to hang in the palaces.

Painting of Tinh Tam Lake scenery in the Nguyen Dynasty

Tinh Tam Lake is a fresh and attractive space located between the heart of the ancient capital and the people of Hue.

Tinh Tam Lake has been ranked as a national relic (type of art architecture) according to Decision No. 99/2004/QD-BVHTT, dated December 15, 2004 of the Ministry of Culture and Information.